Health insurance?

I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane society.

My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his life,
and I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly cost
of VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders for
cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that
generous. For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental
cleaning. Most vets charge a lot more than that, given that the
procedure requires a general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me
that there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said
that I could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never
cancel on me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people
that have experience with the policies, particularly those offered by VPI.

Thanks,
Rich

mdsu wrote:
I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane society.

My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his life,
and I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly cost
of VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders for
cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that
generous. For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental
cleaning. Most vets charge a lot more than that, given that the
procedure requires a general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me
that there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said
that I could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never
cancel on me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people
that have experience with the policies, particularly those offered by VPI.

Thanks,
Rich

I made a mistake. The monthly cost would be $25/per cat. So that's
$50/month.

Rich

In ,
mdsu purred:
mdsu wrote:
I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane
society. My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his
life,
and I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly
cost of VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That
amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders
for cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that
generous. For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental
cleaning. Most vets charge a lot more than that, given that the
procedure requires a general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me
that there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said
that I could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never
cancel on me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people
that have experience with the policies, particularly those offered
by VPI. Thanks,
Rich

I made a mistake. The monthly cost would be $25/per cat. So that's
$50/month.

Rich

Probably be better off taking the $50/month and depositing it in a pet-only,
interest-bearing savings account (make sure you get one that has no
penalties for closing/withdrawing funds). That way the money is YOURS, and
not in somebody elsses wallet, and there are no stacks of forms to fill out
if you need to get to it.

"mdsu" wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane
society.

My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his life, and
I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly cost of
VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders for
cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that generous.
For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental cleaning. Most
vets charge a lot more than that, given that the procedure requires a
general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me that
there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said that I
could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never cancel on
me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people that
have experience with the policies, particularly those offered by VPI.

Thanks,
Rich

I have never had health insurance for my cats, but I did look into several
policies shortly after I adopted Duffy. I decided that the costs outweighed
the benefits (but I do think you could find policies that cost less than the
$50.00 for two cats that you mentioned in your second message). Many
policies cover only certain listed procedures, and many have an
unrealistically low "cap" on costs. So, I decided to self-insure. I opened
an interest-bearing account in the credit union *exclusively* for Holly and
Duffy. I make a monthly deposit and have never used the account because it
is intended only for emergency pet expenses, not for routine exams and
procedures. I adopted Duffy 3-1/2 years ago and have made deposits almost
every month since that time. This means that I did take some risks if one
of the cats had become ill before I built a balance in the account, but I
think this is a much more effective way to care for them than using pet
insurance (especially if your cats are healthy and relatively young when you
begin making deposits).

MaryL

I have done the pet account with my bank Each of the furballs get 50 a
month added to their account. I do this just in case I need the extra money
for them for whatever even though I can afford the bills with ease. I ma
always looking to the future. I ran into one problem with the accounts. I
received credit card offers and Junk mail for Rumble and Spirit with my last
name. Plus just recently one for Ka'Shay I am almost tempted to look up
their credit scores. I contacted the credit bureau and the card company the
supervisor thought I was kidding.

Matthew wrote:
I have done the pet account with my bank Each of the furballs get 50 a
month added to their account. I do this just in case I need the extra money
for them for whatever even though I can afford the bills with ease. I ma
always looking to the future. I ran into one problem with the accounts. I
received credit card offers and Junk mail for Rumble and Spirit with my last
name. Plus just recently one for Ka'Shay I am almost tempted to look up
their credit scores. I contacted the credit bureau and the card company the
supervisor thought I was kidding.



Thanks everyone. Self-insuring makes a lot more sense. And that's
exactly what I'll do.

Rich

"Matthew" wrote in message
.. .
I have done the pet account with my bank Each of the furballs get 50 a
month added to their account. I do this just in case I need the extra
money for them for whatever even though I can afford the bills with ease.
I ma always looking to the future.

This to me makes a lot more sense than paying for insurance you may never
use, Matthew. Great idea.

I ran into one problem with the accounts. I
received credit card offers and Junk mail for Rumble and Spirit with my
last name. Plus just recently one for Ka'Shay I am almost tempted to
look up their credit scores. I contacted the credit bureau and the card
company the supervisor thought I was kidding.


lol



--
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On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:32:24 -0400, mdsu wrote:

I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane society.

My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his life,
and I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly cost
of VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders for
cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that
generous. For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental
cleaning. Most vets charge a lot more than that, given that the
procedure requires a general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me
that there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said
that I could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never
cancel on me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people
that have experience with the policies, particularly those offered by VPI.

Thanks,
Rich

Insurance companies exist to make money so the payout on average will
be less than the premiums, plus they make some money investing the
premiums. If you're the type of person that can pay those premiums
into your own account, that's going to be the better deal in the long
run.

Thanks for bringing this up. I have considered pet insurance since I
have seven cats. All are in good health and still fairly young (oldest
two are 10 years old).

I had never thought of opening a separate account for my cats, but that
sure is a good idea. Why pay someone else when I can pay myself? As
somebody said, insurance companies are in the business to make money
and pay out less in premiums. Never is it more true than with pet
insureance. You pay $50 per MONTH and they only want to fork out $65
for dental? There is something definitely wrong with that!

I had one cat spayed, five dentals, X-rays, and blood work done on two
of my babies a few months ago and it cost me $788.00. Fortunately, I
had a mobile vet so all of that was done in my driveway. Not having to
crate up six cats and take them to a vet was worth every dime. Even if
I had had pet insurance, I doubt it would have been much cheaper.
Deeanna

dgk wrote:
On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:32:24 -0400, mdsu wrote:

I'm in the process of adopting two 1-yo cats from the local humane society.

My last cat had many health problems in the last 5 years of his life,
and I spent a lot of money caring for him.

My employer offers a 5% discount on VPI pet insurance. The monthly cost
of VPI's "Superior Plan" for two cats would be about $25. That amount
includes a second 5% discount for multiple cats, as well as riders for
cancer and routine care.

But I was looking at the schedule of benefits, and it's not that
generous. For example, on routine care, VPI only pays $65 for dental
cleaning. Most vets charge a lot more than that, given that the
procedure requires a general anesthetic.

I just spoke with a VPI customer service representative. She told me
that there is no "once-in-a-lifetime" exclusion. When asked, she said
that I could cancel the policy at any time, but that VPI could never
cancel on me. I don't believe that statement for a minute.

I'd like to hear the pros and cons about health insurance from people
that have experience with the policies, particularly those offered by VPI.

Thanks,
Rich

Insurance companies exist to make money so the payout on average will
be less than the premiums, plus they make some money investing the
premiums. If you're the type of person that can pay those premiums
into your own account, that's going to be the better deal in the long
run.